Engine governor



Feb. 11 1947. I M. MALLORY 2,415,509

ENGINE GOVERNOR Filed May 7, 1945 35 -4 r so \\l Rh INVENTOR. Mar/an Wail/04y Patented F eh. 1 1,1 1947 llNlTEl? STATES PATENT OFFICE Marion Mallory, Detroit, Mich. Application May 7, 1945, Serial No. 592,363

Claims. (Cl. 123-103) This invention relates to a multiple speed governor for an internal combustion engine.

This application is a continuation-in-part of my copending application Serial Number 527,312, filed March 20, 1944, now Patent Number 2,377- 256. i

It is essential in controlling the speed of some internal combustion engines, especially truck and bus engines, that the engine should be governed at a plurality of speeds depending upon the operating conditions. For example, supposing that the engine of a truck is governed to have a top 5 speed of 2500 R. P. M. to give the vehicle a top speed of 40 miles per hour, if such truck were heavily loaded it would be necessary to shift into very low gear for climbing a hillwhich would make the vehicle speedfvery low due to the engine being governed at atop speed of 2500 R. P. M.

. Under such a conditionit would be desirable to have the engine governed at a higher top speed. Similarly in tractors itlis necessary to have a different engine speed i for plowing than for threshing andfllling silos.

It is the object of this invention to produce a -governor for controlling an internal combustion engine at different speeds, and more particularly to produce a governor which will control an internal combustion engine at a plurality of different top speeds dependent upon the particular conditions under which the engine is operated.

The drawing is an elevation partly in section showing my multiple speed governor.

The elements shown in the drawing are referenced as follows: governor housing I having an inlet 2 and an outlet 3, governor throttle valve 4 of the butterfly type, valve shaft 5, crank 6, tension spring 7 connected to crank 6-at one end and to the valve housing at the other end and tending to hold the valve open, suction device 8, flexible diaphragm 9, suction chamber l0, rod ll connecting diaphragm 9 to crank 6, conduit 12 connecting suction chamber l0 with orifice l3 in the intake passageway, conduit l4 connecting suction chamber ll'lwith orifice IS in the intake passageway (conduit l4 and orifice 15 are preferred but the device will operate when these elements are omitted), conduit l6, and branch conduits l1, [8, I9 and 20 through which conduit l6 communicates with atmosphere.

Communication between branch conduits I! to 20 and atmosphere are individually controlled by centrifugal valvqmechanisms such as are shown limitation, I have shown my governor arrangedto control the engine at four difierent speeds.

My centrifugal air bleed valve mechanisms comprise the following elements: engine driven shaft which is shown as a distributor shaft 2|, valve housings 22, 23, centrifugally unbalanced valves 24, 25, 26, 21, controlling air bleed orifices 28, 29, 30, 3|, tension springs .32, 33, 34, 35, axial passageway 36 connecting conduit I! with cylinder 31, passageway 38 connecting conduit 18 with cylinder 39, passageway 40 connecting conduit l9 with cylinder 4|, passageway 42 connecting conduit 20 with cylinder 43, shut off valves 44, 45 and 46 positioned respectively in branch conduits l8, l9 and 20. Passageways 36, 38, 40 and 42 cannot communicate with each other except through the branch conduits. The stationary valve housings 41, 48 are provided with ports 49 to atmosphere. Tension springs 32, 33, 34 and 35 at alltimes urge their respective valves 24,

for less tension'than spring 35. Thus, spring 32 exerts a lighter pull on valve 24 than spring 33 exerts on valve 25 so that valve 25 will close at a higher R. P. M. than valve 24. Similarly, valve 26 will close at a higher speed than valve 25 and valve 2'! will close at a higher speed than valve 26.

The governor valve 4 can be used either with or without the usual manually controlled throttle valve (not shown). Without the manually controlled throttle valve the engine will run at its governed speed provided the engine is not required to pull a load greater than a load capable of being pulled by the power developed by-the engine at its governed speed. The governor housing is adapted to be connected into the intake manifold of an internal combustion engine on the engine side of the carburetor.

The operation of my device is as follows: The manner in which the centrifugally unbalanced valves 24 to 21 individually control the speed of the engine is the same as that described in my copending application Serial No. 466,961, filed November 25, 1942, and therefore will not be described in detail.

Let us assume that valve 24 is set to close at 2000 R. P. M., valve 25 at 2500 R. P. M., valve 26 at 3000 R. P. M. and valve 21 at 3500 R. P. M. If valves 44, 45 and 46 are open (as illustrated in the drawing), then if the engine is set in operation the speed will accelerate up to 3500 lit. P. M., at 2000 R. P. M. valve 24, will close,

shutting off air bleed orifice 28, at 2500 R. P. M.

valve 25 will close, shutting oil air bleed orifice 29, at 3000 R. P. M. valve Iliwill close, shutting off air bleed orifice 30, and finally at 3500 R. P. M. valve 21 will close momentarily shutting ofl air bleed orifice 31. As valve 21 closes momentarily at 3500 R. P. M., the airibleed to suction device will be shut off and the intake passagevacuum will tend to establish itself in suction chamber III which now tends to move throttle valve 4 toward closed position. The centrifugal force tending to close valve 21 is opposed by the intake passageway suction acting on valve 21 and also by tension spring 35. However, valve 21 will control air bleed 3i at substantally 3500 R. P. M. to more or less bleed suction device i0 so that throttle valve 4 is actuated more or less toward open or closed position to control the flow of motive fluid into the engine to maintain its governed speed at substantially 3500 R. P. M. Now, if it is desired to. govern the speed at 3000 R. P. M.,then valve 46 will be'closed and valve 26, controlling air bleed 30, will take over the control of suction device 8 in the same manner as above described. If it is desired tocontrol the engine at 2500 R. P. M., then both valves 45 and 46'will be closed, and finally, if it is desired to control the engine at'2000 R. P. M., valves 44, 45 and 46 will all be closed and then centrifugally unbalanced valve 24 and air bleed 28 will modify the action of suction device 8to control the engine at that desired governed speed.

I claim:

l; The combination with an internal combustion engine having an intake passageway provided with a throttle valve for controlling the flow of motive fluid to the engine, means actuated through changes of fluid pressure for imparting movement to said valve, a plurality of fluid bleeds for bleeding fluid into said pressure actuated means to modify the pressure therein. centrifugally unbalanced valve means for each fluid bleed and rotated in accordance with the engine speed for controlling said fluid bleeds, the said centrifugally unbalanced valve means tending to close their respective fluid bleeds at different engine speeds, said fluid bleeds being connected in parallel to said pressure actuated device, and means for shutting off from the pressure actuated device one of the air bleeds controlled by a centrifugally unbalanced valve means closing at a higher engine speed'than another centrifugal valve means whereby the engine is governed substantially at the engine speed at which said other centrifugal valve means closes, the said fluid bleed which is controlled by the centrifugally unbalanced valve means closing at a lower engine speed being continuously connected to said pressure actuated device.

2. The combination with an internal combustion engine having an intake passageway provided with a throttle valve for controlling the flow of motive fluid to the engine, suction actuated means for imparting movement to said valve, a plurality of air bleeds for bleeding air into said suction actuated means to modify the pressure therein, a centrifugally unbalanced valve for each air bleed and rotated in accordance with the engine speed for controlling said air bleeds, one of said centrifugally unbalanced valve tending to close its air bleed at a higher engine speed than that at which another centrifugally unbalanced valve closes its air bleed, conduits connecting said air bleeds to said suction device in parallel, and a third valve for shutting off only the air bleed which is controlled by the centrifugal valve having the higher closing speed whereby the engine is governed. substantially at the engine speed at which the other centrifugal valve closes its respective air bleed when said third valve is closed and whereby when said third valve is open the engine is governed at substantially the higher engine speed at which the first mentioned centrifugal valve closes, the said air bleed which is controlled by the centrifugally unbalanced valve means closing at a lower engine speed being continuously connected to said suction actuated means.

3. The combination with an internal combustion engine havin-gan intake passageway provided with a throttle valve for controlling the flow of motive fluid to the engine, a device actuated by suction from a point in said passageway between the throttle valve and the engine and having an operative connection with said throttle valve, a valve housing rotated in accordance with the speed of the engine having an opening to atmosphere, a conduit continuously connecting said housing with the suction actuated device, a

centrifugally unbalanced valve-in said housing tending to close said opening to atmosphere at a predetermined engine speed, a second valve housing rotated in accordance with the speed of the engine having an opening to atmosphere, a conduit in parallel with said first mentioned conduit and connecting said second housing with the suction actuated device, a centrifugally unbalanced valve in said second housing tending to close said opening to atmosphere at a higher engine speed, and valve means interposed in the conduit leading to said second housing for shutting oil said second housing from the suction actuated device whereby the engine is governed substantially at the speed at which said first mentioned centrifugal valve closes said first mentate at the same speed and varying their speed of rotation in accordance with the engine speed, each of said valve. housings having an opening to atmosphere and'a passageway connecting the same with said suction actuated device, said passageways connectingthe valve housings in parallel with the suction actuated device, each of said housings also having a centrifugally unbalanced valve tending to close the opening to at mosphere at a predetermined engine speed, each of said centrifugally unbalanced valves tending to close its opening at a different engine speed than the speed at whichany other centrifugally unbalanced valve tends to close its respective opening whereby when all of the valve housings are connected to said suction actuated device the engine will be governed substantially at the speed at which the centrifugal valve having the highest closing speed tends to close its respective opening, and valve means for closing only the passageway leading to the valve housing for the centrifugal valve having the highest engine closing speed whereby when said valve means is closed the engine will be governed substantially at the speed at which the centrifugal valve having the next highest closing speed closes its respective opening to atmosphere.

5. The combination with an internal combustion engine having an intake passageway provided with a throttle valve for controlling the fiow of motive fluid to the engine, a device actuated by suction from a point in said passageway between the throttle valve and the engine and having an operative connection with said throttle valve, at least two valve housings all arranged to rotate at the same speed and varying their speed of rotation in accordance with the engine speed, each of said valve housings having an opening to atmosphere and a passageway connectlng the same with said suction actuated device, said passageways being connected in parallel to said suction actuated device, each of said housings also having a centrifugally unbalanced valve tending to close the opening to atmosphere at a predetermined engine speed, one of said centrifugally unbalanced valves tending to close its opening at a higher engine speed than the speed at which the other 'centrifugally unbalwhich said higher speed centrifugal valv closes even though said first mentioned control valve is open and when said second control valve is closed and the first mentioned control valve is open the engine is governed at substantially the speed at which the lower speed centrifugal valve closes.

MARION REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Name Date Mallory May 29, 1945 Number 

